Putting my best foot forward

[Jarid in Cedar]

Perhaps you view it as atypical because you are reading too much into recent events and conversations held elsewhere? This may be hard for you to believe, but it is what it is and I am what I am. There is no hidden message or insinuation in this post. I do not post with any sort of conscious agenda or purpose. I do not post things that I don't honestly believe, and I do not post to see what sort of reaction I can get from people. While I do try to portray myself in the best light (who doesn't?), you can ask anyone here who knows me personally and they'll tell you that my personality on CUF is essentially my personality in real life. In many situations I have been "guilty" of playing it straight laced when others on CUF were indeed joking or masquerading. I've done my best to make it clear to you why I am here, and what I get from CUF.

i 100% endorse this post. Meeting pellegrino IRL, confirms that he is here who he is in person.

I strive to be me regardless of the circumstance/location of my words. What I say defines me regardless of where I am, where they are said, or what voice(arena) they are said in. If I say something snide or off the cuff, it still originates from me and becomes part of who I am as a person. IOW, you own what you say regardless of what your intention may be.

[Jarid in Cedar]

sigh....

Why the sigh here?

[Babs]

And all of these thoughts brought me to thinking about the fun of trying ridiculous things on internet message boards to see what will happen.

There's a word for that kind of poster, you know.

[Babs]

Why the sigh here?

She's suggesting that pelle - perhaps the most sincere, unbiased, and non-antagonistic of all our posters - is condescending to her again.

[Jeff Lebowski]

There's a word for that kind of poster, you know.

Of course, the good trolls try to be a little more subtle.

Adios, credibility!

[All-American]

Of course, the good trolls try to be a little more subtle.

Adios, credibility!

Another reason SU is so good at what he does. You can't ever quite shake the feeling that he actually means every word he says.

[byu71]

Another reason SU is so good at what he does. You can't ever quite shake the feeling that he actually means every word he says.

And thus the internal argument I constantly have. I give him high intelligence quotient on some of his thinking.

Then there are the other posts. High intelligence quotient for his trolling gifts or he is both intelligent and at the same time an ignorant SOB.

I prefer giving him the high IQ rating, at times reluctantly.

[RobinFinderson]

I've been reluctant to post in this thread, in part because I really like Rosebud, and in part because I still don't understand her intentions here. At first I thought she was being totally sincere, albeit a bit theatrical, in changing her position about joining the SE. Then, when confronted about the style of her announcement, she seemed to back off of the sincere part, and she couched her approach in quasi-scientific terms. Even though the reality is that we have all been literally experimenting with social interaction since our births (and the history of this board, with its litany of completely unnecessary fights, and the speed at which some of us rush to take offense, and the grudges that are held and born like testimonies, are all evidence that for many of us, we need to continue to experiment, because we still haven't figured it out), the idea that anyone is experimenting with the lives of others comes across as genuine trolling.

To experiment with social interaction for the purpose of figuring things out for one's self, that seems like the thing that all self-aware and conscientious people are doing all of the time. To experiment with the social interaction for the purpose of teaching others lessons, essentially treating others as lab subjects, that is trollish.

Like I said, I'm not sure what RB's intentions are here, and I consider her to be a friend, so I'm not going to rush and call her a troll. There is also the fact that I believe that certain kinds of trolling can be fun and useful, which is a point I tried to make in a different thread when I essentially suggested that Benjamin Franklin's Silence Dogood character was a troll in her times. So trolling isn't all bad, and RB has been an effective and interesting troll in the past. If she is trolling here, what I think has struck a nerve, is the lack of sincerity in the approach.

I'm not sure that RB fully knows what she is doing here. Maybe she should ask for a mulligan. As a community, I think we ought to be generous to those requesting mulligans. It seems like the kind, forgiving and humble thing to do. It is the kind of community that I hope we are becoming.

[RobinFinderson]

Of course, the good trolls try to be a little more subtle.

Adios, credibility!

If she wants it, you ought to give her a mulligan. We ought not be a people whose view of each other is based primarily on our low points. I think it ought to be the other way around. If I were a Christian, I'd even go so far as to say that it would be the most Christian way to be, generous with the mulligans, and generally judging people by their best contributions as opposed to their worst.

[byu71]

My own personal feeling is no one needs a mulligan. Faking it is actually an expression of who one is, isn't it. Changing ones mind and acting one way and finding out you would prefer to act in another way later is actually expressing who one is isn't it.

I hope RB keeps posting here. Obviously she can get a thread and discussion going. However, she has been around long enough that if she happens to hurt my feelings, I have no problem worrying about hers.

[Babs]

Robin, fwiw, I do think the genuine rb would be welcome here. The only problem is that it's been a year now, and we have yet to meet her. I think this is in part because her arrival was met with a reception that was, shall we say, a bit chilly. OTOH, a concerted effort has been made since then to encourage her and help her fit in, and an outdated appeal can only excuse behavior for so long.

I do think that there's still the potential for the woman behind rosebud to be genuinely accepted here. But it's up to her. She alone has the power to determine what she will be here. But she may need to decide soon, as it seems clear that her window of opportunity is closing.

[Rosebud]

sigh....

I've only skimmed the posts that came after my sigh here. I'll have to get to them after I read them thoroughly. I wanted to first explain what this sigh was about because I wasn't able to articulate myself well and had to run. Plus, it's taken a couple of hours for me to understand myself.

I sighed because I was frustrated that instead of telling me why his response to this is so out of character he wanted to discuss literature. Something seems extreme and out of place and I can't figure out what it is.

[Rosebud]

There's a word for that kind of poster, you know.

Is that what this is about? You've decided to put me into a box called troll because I make a move that is so trollish that it can't be missed. A blatant troll is hardly a troll. It was meant to be obvious enough that you'd obviously see the ridiculousness in it. Honestly, I do not understand message board ethics at this point. Your ethics are all one-sided here. I'm suddenly being held to an incredibly high standard. It seems a bit hypocritical.

I was honest that I didn't want to be in SE from the first day I found out about it. Why would you assume that I'd suddenly change my position? I've been consistent. It didn't make sense to me when people jumped to the conclusion that I really did. I was scratching my head at your head scratches.

I don't have any more time....

[Babs]

I was honest that I didn't want to be in SE from the first day I found out about it. Why would you assume that I'd suddenly change my position?

rosebud, please stop. seriously. This is painful. I like you - the real you - and you're setting yourself up for an absolute shredding by posters like AA. You don't want him turning your own record against you. We don't *assume* that you changed your position. You told us you did.

http://cougaruteforum.com/showpost.php?p=357769&postcount=59

please, seriously, just put your "best foot forward" and walk away from this thread. Don't reply to this post. Don't reply to any of the posts. Just go find somewhere else to start posting and being yourself. If you don't want to trust me, then ask wuap or one of your friends.

[Rosebud]

rosebud, please stop. seriously. This is painful. I like you - the real you - and you're setting yourself up for an absolute shredding by posters like AA. You don't want him turning your own record against you. We don't *assume* that you changed your position. You told us you did.

http://cougaruteforum.com/showpost.php?p=357769&postcount=59

please, seriously, just put your "best foot forward" and walk away from this thread. Don't reply to this post. Don't reply to any of the posts. Just go find somewhere else to start posting and being yourself. If you don't want to trust me, then ask wuap or one of your friends.

Okay, Babs obviously wants me gone. Anyone else?